A Recent Conversation

Recently I had a conversation with Rob, a middle aged man with a wife and teenage sons.  He and his wife worked full-time and the boys were involved in high school.  Rob would stop by his father Dan's home every night after work to help with errands or things he needed around the house.  He began to notice that Dan was not showering, dressing or even fixing meals some days.  Another concern was his father's growing confusion and disorientation.  A trip to the family doctor only brought more concern to Rob, since the doctor claimed it was just the aging process that caused the confusion.

Rob decided he wanted a second professional opinion on what was best for his father,which is  the reason he called us.  After hearing his concerns I offered to send our Geriatric R.N. out to visit with Rob and his Dad, a good home care agency provides a free assessment.   She suggested that increasing some vitamins and insuring proper nutrition would help clear up the confusion and disorientation.  Rob, his father and the nurse discussed options and agreed that we would send over a C.N.A. four hours a day to help Dan with grooming, light housekeeping and meal preparation.  It was important that we only had two employees involved to maintain the continuity of his care and that Rob and Dan would meet with potential care givers to find the right match.  To date everyone is satisfied with the care.  Dan seems to enjoy Jimmy, one of the C.N.A.s, especially since Rob had season tickets to our professional baseball team and both enjoyed going to games.  Needless to say, Rob is quite relieved and his Father is doing much better.   

Refer to my post on how to find a quality home care agency!  There are qualified home care providers in every major American city.

An Interesting Study

A few days ago I was listening to Morning Edition on N.P.R. and they interviewed a physician who specialized in treating  patients suffering from dementia or alzheimer's.  He was speaking to those of us who deal with loved ones who don't seem to know who we are and the frustration we experience as a result.  His study was conducted with a group of seniors suffering from memory loss. Initially the group was shown five of what are considered to be the most emotional films ever made.  The group was visually effected, some sobbing others very somber.  Shortly after the film clips ended the staff went to each of the participants and asked them what films they just saw.  None could name any of the films used in the experiment.  But the mood of the participants was sullen.  The second part of the experiment included  clips of very funny scenes from five other films. The group laughed out loud and seriously enjoyed all of the clips.  Again a short time passed and the staff asked the participants what films they had just seen and again, none could  remember.  But the mood of the entire group was upbeat and happy.   

The physician pointed out that those of us who feel we are helpless to improve the quality of a loved ones life who suffers from memory loss, that by creating a fun or pleasant activity, which may not be remembered, but will set a peaceful, pleasant state of mind for the patient.